Proposal and Proposal Report
Topic Identification
Title: International Trade vs. Protectionism, What Is Better?
As the global economy keeps expanding due to globalization, the debates concerning the free international trade and protection become more common, especially between China and the United States. Even though free international trade leads to significant benefits such as affordable goods, the growth of national economies, and world cooperation, it may lead to many negative consequences. For instance, the United States is afraid that free international trade will lead to unemployment, impact the environment, and raise national security concerns. The research proposal will discuss the benefits of free international trade and protectionism to find the better option.
Purpose of the Research
The main purpose of the study is to establish which option between free international trade and protectionism is better and understand whether different countries can combine these programs. The primary motivation behind the topic is the ongoing conflict between China and the United States caused by disagreements between protectionist laws and free trade. The United States President Donald Trump accuses China of conducting unfair global trade with other developed nations. China is a major exporter of cheap products, which is why many countries view China as a threat to their domestic economies. Moreover, China also uses protectionist policies to protect domestic companies and businesses from foreign interference. The United States protests these types of policies. The issue is affecting other countries around the world, including Britain in the European Union and India in Asia. My motivation is to research the issue and establish whether the debate is taking into consideration the significant concerns of each party.
Economies produce, consume, and distribute wealth either locally or internationally. The debate on free international trade and protectionism concerns economics because it interferes with all the three stages, including the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. The problem also affects the society as a whole as it helps understand how the protectionism policies the government adopts might affect the availability and affordability of goods and services in the community. My peers and the economic faculty should want to read my work because it discusses a current issue, which can affect any country around the world.
Background Search
According to Aggarwal and Evenett, the background of the international trade and protectionism debate can be traced back to 1995 when during the start of negotiations concerning Free Trade Agreements (550). The United States, China, India, Japan, and the European Union are of the nations that were leading the free trade debate. However, the 2008 financial crisis stopped the free trade enthusiasm, and some of the countries started advocating for protectionism policies aimed at protecting domestic economies from future crises. The current financial crises made governments frantic to advance local commercial benefits often at the expense of their competitors. The United States is at the forefront of free trade advocates while it already supported free trade agreements in 1995. Many countries around the world underestimated the effects of a globalized economy, and now
they are facing the consequences. De Wit notes that many protectionist policies are motivated by the need to level the playing field in international trade and not by the need to protect domestic economies from financial crises in the future (22). Many countries in Europe and North America feel that they are losing to countries in Asian and Eastern Europe. Many companies are abandoning developed countries and going to China, Russia, and India due to cheaper raw materials, sources of labor, and operational costs. The background of the study shows that the issue started a long time ago, but now the confrontation is more aggressive while different superpowers focus on promoting opposing sides in the debate.
Methodology
I do understand that writing a good research proposal takes time, thoughts, and effort; therefore, I plan to start the preparation early enough in the semester. My plan will start with choosing a topic, identifying potential issues, narrowing the topic, conducting preliminary research, and writing the research proposal. While researching the topic, I will rely on empirical work and secondary sources to establish the strength of each side in the debate. My analysis will be qualitative, historical, and theoretical since the topic does not involve any quantitative data. The historical part of the research is essential as it will help to establish how the free trade debate started after the Cold War and how it changed after countries began demanding protectionism policies. The use of secondary data methods helps establish how other scholars have discussed the issue and predicted the future of the global economy. The chosen methodology shows the way the topic was discussed in the past and how it can be discussed now and in the future.
Works Cited
Aggarwal, Vinod K., and Simon J. Evenett. “A Fragmenting Global Economy: A Weakened WTO, Mega FTAs, and Murky Protectionism.” Swiss Political Science Review, vol. 19, no. 4, 2013, pp. 550-557.
De Wit, G. Jaap. “Unlevel Playing Field? Ah Yes, You Mean Protectionism.” Journal of Air Transport Management, vol. 41, 2014, pp. 22-29.
Professor’s Notes for proposal:
- SubmitTWO separate documents, as requested. This is the reason your grade is low.
- You may want to check what comes up in these searches and use what is useful in your research:
Free trade vs protectionism
